The recent proliferation of devices employing wireless technologies has led to the increasing availability of devices featuring multiple wireless communication systems. BLUETOOTH® (Bluetooth) is often used to connect and exchange information between mobile phones, computers, digital cameras, wireless headsets, speakers, keyboards, mice or other input peripherals, and similar devices over relatively short distances. Bluetooth offers a number of advantages, including high interoperability and power efficiency, but may exhibit reduced data transfer rates as compared to other wireless communications systems. For example, a wireless local area network (WLAN), such as one conforming to the 802.11 family of standards promulgated by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), may offer relatively high data rates over relatively long distances, offering an easy interface to existing network infrastructures. Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide wireless communications between devices using a system that shares attributes of the Bluetooth and WLAN technologies.
To help achieve this goal, the high speed extensions in the Bluetooth 3.0 specification enable two devices having WLAN capabilities that have a conventional Bluetooth link to establish an additional communications link using their respective WLAN transceivers. Specifically, packets of Bluetooth information may be routed through the media access control (MAC) layers and physical (PHY) layers of each WLAN transceiver for transmission and reception. Accordingly, this type of communications may be termed a Bluetooth Alternate MAC/PHY (AMP) link and allows the Bluetooth system to selectively provide information transfer at the increased rates associated with WLAN protocols.
Despite these benefits, using the same transceiver for both WLAN and Bluetooth communications may create concurrency problems. For example, in normal operation the WLAN undergoes a scanning and roaming procedure during which it may change channels or frequencies. If there is an active AMP link on a given channel, concurrent operation may not be allowed as soon as the WLAN connection roams away from the current channel. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide systems and methods for coordinating operation of the WLAN and AMP links. This disclosure satisfies these and other needs.